Entries in Cricket
(6)

My son, who is a professional baseball player, swears that playing Playstation MLB The Show makes him a better hitter. He claims that having to guess which pitch is coming, the timing of the controller in his hand, seeing the realistic pitching motion, it all helps. I think it's his rationale for playing video games instead of doing something more productive. But I wonder what he'd think of the ProBatter. Actually, I know what he'd think. He'd love it.

He's already the one who can't get enough hitting a baseball. We never got to a point where we had our own batting cage at the house when he was growing up, but if we had, he'd have worn it out. The ProBatter system combines the best of both pitching machines and video games, and then takes it to a new level.

The ProBatter incorporates technology and video to nearly duplicate the experience of facing a live pitcher. Standing at the plate, you see video of a pitcher going into his windup. The pitcher's hand comes down exactly at a hole in the screen out of which comes a live pitch. Unlike conventional pitching machines, the ProBatter can throw an astounding eight different pitches at any speed from 40-100 miles per hour. The pitches can come at any location in and out of the strike zone to eliminate the biggest flaw in ordinary machines, which is that they groove the same pitch at the same location at the same speed over and over, making the process too easy and unrealistic.

This is, on the other hand, extremely realistic. From the windup, to the pitch, it really looks like a person is pitching to you. Hitting is all about timing and this system can't be beat for working on that. Many pro and college teams swear by it. It's great for fan zones at stadiums and batting cage facilities. If you have a basement at home and really want to make an investment in your son (or daughter - they do a softball version too), we can't think of a better way. It can even be used to train catchers.

The ProBatter is ingenious, effective and fun. It can be used by the most serious future hall-of-famer and the up-and-coming Little Leaguer. It takes the doldrums out of training and turns it into a virtual reality thrill. What more can you ask for when you step up to the plate?

The death of Phil Hughes shook the entire cricketing fraternity. He was hit in an area that would not have been protected by any helmet on the market at the time. Irish batsman John Mooney famously came out to bat in the Cricket World Cup with an about facing grille on the back of his helmet. While this may have been effective it definitely was not so sleek looking Heeding the call of the hour in keeping the players safe, top cricket helmet maker in the world Masuri scrambled and created a product that now protects the vulnerable area under the ears of the batsman, it is called the Stem Guard.

Any cricketer playing at a top level should consider the Stem Guard as imperative as going out to bat with a helmet. Masuri have put a lot of thought and time into the design of this product. It predominately fits well on their Masuri Vision Series Helmets.

The Stem Guard they sent us is ultra-lightweight. It does not hinder the vision of the batsman in any way. The batsman in fact is totally unaware that the Stem Guard is even there when he is wearing the helmet. The design is such that should the batsman turn his head when facing a bouncer and be struck by the ball. The Stem Guard will bear the brunt of the impact.

Like any other piece of protective headwear, the Stem Guard should be replaced if it sustains a serious blow. It definitely will not be long before the ICC mandates for batsmen to be wearing a helmet with a

Stem Guard, if not for professional cricket then definitely at the junior levels.

The Masuri Stem Guard is currently available in the pale yellow color and is an essential item for the safety of any cricketer.

The new year is around the corner which means cricket bat manufacturers are all out and about touting their new ranges of cricket bats. As always the big manufacturers have made some great additions and improvements to their ranges but there is one cricket bat that really sticks out as a novel and new product and that is the GM Sigma Cricket Bat for 2015.

GM always comes out with top of the line cricket bats. Every one of their cricket bats comes with the backing of DXM technology. DXM technology is the expert research that goes into creating perfectly weighted cricket bats that perform at the optimum.

What makes the GM sigma different is the unique milling into the profile of the cricket bat. The Sigma is the first cricket bat to have Computer Aided Drawing and Computer Aided Manufacturing to optimize the weight distribution of the cricket bat.

This has aided GM in developing a cricket bat that excels in 3 key areas:

Namely, the pick up of the cricket bat is as well balanced or perhaps even more balanced than any other cricket bat on the market. The bat has an extended sweet spot meaning that the prime hitting zone is virtually the entire profile of the willow. The power distribution throughout the cricket bat is at its smoothest, this makes it a real winner.

For good measure GM has milled a highly classy logo into the back of the bat, perhaps signifying just how special the GM Sigma really is.

One of the best rising cricket brands in the world is Hammer Cricket, they have a superlative range of bats and general cricket equipment.

One of the most popular forms of recreational and sometimes even competitive cricket is Tape Ball cricket. It is fun and a lot easier than hard ball cricket as there is no need for all the added protection. There is a need though for a quality bat to play tape ball cricket with and that is what makes the Hammer Fyrre Tape Ball Cricket Bat, a great first purchase bat for any cricketer.

The Hammer Fyrre Tape Ball Cricket Bat is made out of high quality Kashmir Willow. The bat is formed with a very subtle bow. The subtleness of the bow means that the bat has a very well weighted and even pick-up and balance for the batsmen.

The profile of the bat is what you can expect from any well-crafted modern cricket bat. The sweet spot is in the mid-section of the bat and the bat feels slightly toe heavy. Toe heaviness is not uncommon with Tape Ball Cricket Bats and Hammer Cricket has engineered their Fyrre Bat to suit the needs of batsmen facing a Tape Ball. The bounce of a Tape Ball is unique and as such the structure of the bat lends itself to dealing with that, not only adequately but very well.

The bat itself is aesthetically very pleasing, with minimal fuss around the stickers, leaving cricket lovers to marvel and enjoy the hunk of willow that is the bat. It comes fitted with a professionally fitted toe guard for added durability and is sure to be a hit - excuse the pun - among players of all skill levels.

There is something very special about the albion Ultimate 98 Cricket Helmet. albion has always been masters of innovation when it comes to protective cricket headwear. They were the initial innovators of the lightweight helmets, which were adored by cricket players of all levels and abilities. The albion Ultimate 98 has that same special lightweight feeling to it but is as sturdy as any of the top notch professional cricket helmets on the market.

The albion Ultimate 98 is based on the Original 98 design and as official suppliers to some of the world’s leading batsmen, albion have produced yet another gem, for design, safety and weight reasons. There is no helmet with the same protective ability that could match the albion Ultimate 98 for its lightweight. It is safe to say that the albion Ultimate 98 protects well above its weight class.

What makes this helmet so special is the fact that Albion have focused on far more than just the protective qualities of the grill and the lid. Both the lid and the grill are aesthetically gorgeous and look great on players like AB De Villiers. The shell is made of carbon fiber which has been reinforced with polymer and super high density EVA liner, together with the slim fit titanium faceguard, the protection offered by the albion Ultimate 98 is of the highest out of any helmet on the market.

Helmets are mainly for protection but the fine attention to details paid by albion on this helmet makes it a real cricketing masterpiece.

Features like the quick release chin strap and sweat absorbent chin cup and an adjustable padding system with a super absorbent forehead pad that allows every player to get the ultimate fit.

The albion Ultimate 98 will not only keep you perfectly safe at the crease it will also keep you the most comfortable.

As a symbiosis of comfort and protection, batsmen will be hard pressed to find a product better than the albion Ultimate 98.